


Family is a Choice

by ErinisMagic



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: (it's camp camp what did you expect?), Child Neglect, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Light Angst, Nightmares, Sickfic, cursing, father/son bonding, foster parent!au, mentions of vomit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-11-28 16:26:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11421735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinisMagic/pseuds/ErinisMagic
Summary: Max's life goes to shit after leaving Camp Campbell. The circumstances of his home life get revealed, he's dumped in foster care, passed around from family to family because no one cares enough to actually put up with him, and to top it all off, he gets stuck living with David of all people.Maybe this was just what he needed to turn his life around.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> after a million and one years i'm finally back!! aaaaaaand in a new fandom. whoops.
> 
> For a bit of background about this particular AU, Max's parents were neglectful and abusive, which David found out after camp ended. He went to the authorities to get Max out of there, but because Max didn't have any other relatives he could live with, he ended up being placed in foster care. David knew Max could be a handful, and (correctly) guessed that he'd be passed around a lot, so he felt a little guilty about being the one to put Max into that situation, even though taking him away from his parents was the right thing to do. To make it up to him, David decided to become a foster parent so he could take Max in himself, and make sure that he had a stable and loving home to grow up in. Max was understandably bitter about everything that had happened to him and blamed David for most of it. When he came to pick him up, Max was the angriest David had ever seen him. He held a grudge against David for a long time, but eventually realized that, though the situation wasn't perfect, David cared, and that was good enough. He began to think of David as the one thing he had never truly felt he had: family. 
> 
> We'll take it from there.

David smiled as he turned the car onto the dusty dirt road, the larger-than-life face of Cameron Campbell watching over him proudly as he did. Camp was starting in just a few days, and David was sure it was going to be the best summer yet. Of course, he thought the same thing every year, but he hadn't been wrong yet. And this year was going to be even better, because _this_ year, he wasn't coming alone.

David beamed into the rear-view mirror, trying to catch Max's eye, but Max was busy glaring out the window, music blaring through his headphones. But David knew that underneath that grumpy, grouchy mask, Max was as excited about going back to camp as he was. After Max had started living with him, he learned a lot about how to read the young boy's emotions; during one of his softer moments, Max had admitted that didn't actually hate everything as much as he pretended to. A lifetime spent with neglectful parents had taught him that it was easier to tell himself that he didn't care than to care and let himself get hurt.

And yes, at first it was hard to hear nothing but insults from the child now under his care, but with the realization that the insults were meant with love and a small readjustment of his thinking, David would say that they've been getting along better than ever.

“We're here, Max!” David sang as the car rolled to a stop, beaming from ear to ear. “Are you ready to have the best summer of your life?”

Max pulled out one earbud, nose wrinkling in disgust. “This place looks even worse than last year.”

“Aw, c'mon Max, don't be like that. Think of all the fun you'll be having! You know, Nikki and Neil are coming back this year.”

“I _know,_ David. You've only been telling me that every day for the past month and a half,” Max said, rolling his eyes. He stalked out of the car, slamming the door behind him.

David got out of the car as well, watching Max with a soft smile. Yes, David had, admittedly, brought up Max's friends coming back to camp more times than necessary, but he couldn't help it. It was exciting! And he knew Max was looking forward to their reunion, too; he just expressed it differently.

Reaching back into the car, David grabbed the clipboard and manila folder that rested on the dash. The folder held his keys for the camp, and he shook them out and pocketed them. On the clipboard was his checklist of everything he needed to get done before camp started. He glanced over the list as he made his way to the back of the car where Max was tugging his duffle bag out of the trunk.

“Okay!” David said, pulling out his own bags. “I have to go unlock the mess hall and the counselors' cabin. After that, you wanna help me set up the tents?”

Max's reply was instantaneous. “No.”

“Please? You know it'll feel great to be helping prepare for your fellow campers!”

“Allow me to rephrase: fuck no.”

“Language, Max,” David sighed, but he was amused more than anything. Max trudged behind him to the mess hall, then to the cabin, David absentmindedly chatting the whole way. “Gwen'll be coming in on the bus on Wednesday with the other campers. Ered's, Nerris's, and Dolph's parents all called ahead to say that they'd be dropping them off themselves. Dolph's parents said they were dropping him off Wednesday morning, and Ered and Nerris will be coming in in the afternoon. But before we even get to that, we need to set up the tents, and clean up the mess hall, and check to make sure no bears took up residence anywhere on camp grounds, and-”

“There is not a single person within a hundred mile radius of this place that cares.”

“I care,” David said, feigning offense. Max huffed, but his face was relaxed. If you asked David, that was as good as the kid smiling.

As he let them into the counselors' cabin, David cast an eye about the place. It was dusty and a little dirty, and cobwebs clung to the corners, but he supposed it could look worse. He dropped his bags at the foot of his bed, watching in confusion as Max made his way around the divider Gwen had strung up to hide her side of the room. “Uh, Max?”

Max spun around, his usual scowl back in place. “If you think I'm sleeping in one of those shitty tents for one second longer than I absolutely have to, you need to get your head checked.” With that he stomped off, throwing his bag down onto Gwen's bed. David heard the old springs scream in protest.

Rather than comment on that, David opened up the small closet in the corner of the room where they kept their (limited) cleaning supplies. He still had a full checklist of tasks to complete, and he figured that cleaning the counselors' cabin was as good a place to start as any. He grabbed the feather duster, broom, and dustpan before nudging the door closed, clearing his throat in the way he did when he wanted to get Max's attention.

Max poked his head out from behind the divider, looking none too pleased about being called. David simply smiled and held out the duster for Max to take.

“You've got to be shitting me,” the boy protested. “Not on your life, David!”

“Would you rather sleep in a dirty cabin?” Max was silent. His face remained unchanged. “If you start cleaning, I'll order us a pizza for dinner,” David bargained.

“It's not even three o'clock yet.”

“It'll take some time to get here. And it will be a perfectly acceptable time to eat dinner when it does!”

“No one delivers this far out.”

“Juliet's does,” David said. Max fixed him with a skeptical glare, so he added, “I worked something out with the owner.”

“Whatever,” Max grumbled, snatching the duster out of David's hand.

David smiled as Max started attacking cobwebs with the duster. He allowed himself a moment to savor the small victory before pulling out his phone and dialing Juliet's.

The girl who picked up was distinctly displeased to learn that it was David calling for a delivery to Campbell's but took his order anyway. The aforementioned “deal” he had struck with the owner was little more than David bribing him with $50 per delivery to deliver to someplace so far away. He knew the deal didn't work in his favor at all, but even he couldn't handle eating camp food all the time. It was pricey, yes, but necessary. He promised to give a huge tip to the delivery person before hanging up and helping Max clean the cabin.

The pizza showed up a little after five, which Max pointed out was an uncomfortably early time to be eating dinner. That didn't stop him from immediately taking the largest slice and plopping down in one of the arm chairs, though. David chuckled, grabbing a roll of paper towels and a slice for himself, sitting down in the other chair. He tore a sheet off the roll, reaching over to wipe at the grease dripping down Max's chin, much to the boy's irritation—with both hands occupied by holding his pizza, he was left trying to fight of David's mother-henning by aiming kicks at his guardian's hand. Max eventually ended up curling up as far away from David as possible, glaring daggers at him. David just laughed again, reaching for the remote.

The TV was old and static-y, and it only received about 10 channels. The channel David eventually selected was airing reruns of the original _Scooby Doo,_ which was something he liked to watch even when he wasn't limited by poor reception. Max rolled his eyes, but David knew he was just pretending for the sake of keeping up his antagonistic image.

No one, he was sure, could truly dislike _Scooby Doo_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol what are endings
> 
> This isn't going to make sense to anyone else, but naming the pizzeria Juliet's is a bit of an inside joke with myself that I am way too proud of. There used to be a pizzeria in my town called Romeo's, but it got shut down after the owner was arrested for tax evasion. I thought playing with that a bit seemed fitting.
> 
> Next up: More father/son bonding when Max is a little shit at camp.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max had never really been a happy camper. It's a little hard to tell whether or not that's changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i wrote this chapter before ep4 aired, and honestly i'm kind of proud about calling that board thing

It was no secret that Max hated Camp Campbell. Everything about it pissed him off to no end; the stupid tents that collapsed with even a light breeze, the worn-down mess hall with the roof that leaked so bad the place might as well have not had one, the idiotic campers, the annoying as fuck counselors...

Max actually had to work to keep his usual scowl on his face at that thought. You'd have to hold him up at gunpoint to get him to admit it, but he didn't actually hate David. He was stupid and ridiculous, and his sickeningly-sweet optimism was one of the most irritating things Max had ever come across in his life, but he cared. Even though Max did nothing but make his life difficult, David was always there when he needed him, kind words and proud smiles at the ready.

He toed at the ground, arms folded as he leaned against one of the supports for the skate ramp. Today was dedicated to Ered's camp, so the ramp was cramped with more people that it was ever meant to hold. The camp couldn't even provide all of them with real skateboards. Ered had the best one, of course, because she had brought hers from home. Five other lucky campers were provided with cheap ones David had found collecting dust in a closet somewhere. The rest of the kids just had plain wooden boards. And, in true Camp Campbell fashion, no one had a helmet; this place was too cheap to even consider the kids' safety.

The counselors hadn't seemed to notice that he had slipped away from the group yet—they were too busy trying to control the campers and make sure no one hurt themselves. Nikki in particular was making this job hard for them. She still hadn't gotten over her idolization of Ered and was trying very hard to impress her. This, of course, meant that she was pushing the others out of the way and attempting tricks she was nowhere near skilled enough to pull off.

“I'm gonna do a triple backflip!” Max heard her shout, which was quickly followed by a simultaneous “No!” from Gwen and a “Cool,” from Ered.

Now would be the perfect time to run. The counselors were distracted, and Max could easily sneak off, steal David's car, and escape this hellhole for good. After all, he'd already stolen David's keys out of his pocket earlier in the day. Last year at this time, running away would be exactly what he would do. But now, he could clearly picture the distraught look on David's face when he discovered Max was missing. He could practically hear the older man's panicked breaths, feel his hands tremble, see the tears gather in his eyes. Max hadn't even done anything yet and he already felt bad for causing his guardian that pain.

So he stayed put, rolling his eyes as he heard Neil complain about the structural integrity of the ramp. There was no way he was going to participate in whatever cluster-fuck the counselors had tried to set up, but he was bored out of his mind. Maybe he'd make a break for it once David had figured out he was down here, for old times' sake.

If the shouting coming from above him was any indication, however, he'd have to wait a while before David noticed he wasn't with the rest of the kids. Camp Campbell was barely-organized chaos at the best of times; now it seemed to have devolved into a complete shitshow. Gwen was trying, and failing, to get everyone in an orderly line; David was just trying to make sure no one broke anything.

The minutes ticked by, and almost twenty had passed before anyone noticed he was gone. David's voice drifted down from the top of the skate ramp, tinged with suspicion. “Where's Max?”

Max grinned mischievously, reaching into his pocket and closing his hand around David's keys. Showtime.

David peered over the edge of the ramp, trying to find the absent camper. He spotted Max leaning against the ramp's support and regarded him for a moment, trying to figure out what he was up to. “What're you doing down here?”

Max didn't say anything, only shrugged.

“Mmhmm,” David hummed slowly before perking up. “Well, why don't you come join the rest of you fellow campers up here? We have a board ready for you to use!”

“Nah, I'm good,” Max said disinterestedly.

“You have to take part in our camp activities, Max.”

“Yeah, well, I've got your car keys, so I'm actually just gonna go,” he said casually, pulling the keys out of his pocket. He paused for a moment, savoring the look on David's face when he finally processed the situation, before taking off in the direction of the car.

“Max!” David shouted behind him.

“Uh, David?” Gwen must have seen him, too.

“Don't worry, I'll get him,” David told her, climbing down off the ramp.

 _Let the game begin,_ Max thought as he heard David's feet hit the ground.

He didn't expect to get very far; Max was fast and had a good head start, but David's legs were freakishly long. Besides, even if he did make it to the car, Max didn't know how to drive. Not that he was even doing this to escape in the first place; if he got to the car before David, he'd just pretend to struggle with starting it until David got there.

By the time David took his first step, Max was at least 30 feet ahead of him. “Max! You stop right there!”

Max snickered. “You'll never take me alive, fucker!” he called over his shoulder, picking up his speed.

“Max!”

Max was only a few feet away from the car when David caught up. He lunged forward, snagging a handful of the boy's hoodie. Max tried to keep running forward, to slip out of the counselor's hold, but David managed to hold him in place while he took a second to catch his breath. Max sagged forward, letting David's grasp be the only thing preventing him from face-planting into the dirt.

David pulled Max back, grabbing him by the shoulders and hoisting him up into the air. Max kicked his legs uselessly and fought back a growl of frustration. He _hated_ being picked up.

“Just what do you think you're doing, young man?” David demanded. He was trying to be stern, but failing miserably.

Max rolled his eyes. “Apparently not getting the hell out of here.” He stared at David, unimpressed, before giving him a smirk and letting his body relax so David would put him down.

David, however, did no such thing. Much to Max's irritation, he brought him to his side and tucked him under his arm like a football. “David, what the shit?! Put me down!” Max shouted, starting to struggle again.

David was much stronger than he looked, and all of Max's kicking and squirming was fruitless. He waited until Max had tired himself out before reaching into his hoodie pocket and taking back his keys.

“Okay, fine, whatever,” Max conceded. “Will you put me down _now_?”

“No,” David said, and started carrying Max back towards camp.

“David!” the kid whined.

“I am taking you back to camp, where you will be an active and happy participant in today's camp activities.”

Max scoffed. “Fat chance.”

“Well, tomorrow we'll be focusing on your camp, so there's no way you'll be able to run off again.”

“Oh yeah? And what camp might that be?” David hadn't actually told him what camp he had signed him up for.

He was quiet for a moment before admitting, “Escape artist camp.”

Max bit out a sharp laugh. “Yeah, 'cause there's no way _that's_ gonna blow up in your face.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't know how well this comes across, but they're both just playing. david isn't actually mad or anything, he's just play mad. he knows max isn't being serious, they're both just having a little fun.
> 
> Up Next: Max has a bad dream; David calms him down


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Considering where he's coming from, it's not really surprising that Max gets nightmares. Considering who he is as a person, it's even less surprising that he doesn't tell David.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: This chapter deals with child abuse.

Max woke up in a cold sweat, tangled up in his blankets. The details of his nightmare were still vivid in his mind, and although Max prided himself on never getting scared, the nightmare had truly shaken him.

_I'm fine,_ he told himself, breathing deeply, trying to ground himself. _I'm in David's apartment; I'm safe. They can't get to me here._

His nightmare had been his usual one: he had come home to find his parents, who usually pretended he didn't exist, in a bad mood. They were waiting for him, hands clenched tight and ready to bruise. They would be raised high, poised to come swinging down, and everything around him would blur. The only thing he could focus on was the fist dropping down on him, over and over again. Only this time, when the abuse was over an he could look up into the face of his attacker, it wasn't his father's cold, hateful face he found looming over him; it was David's.

Max tried to put the thought out of his head, but the memory of the look on dream-David's face haunted him. His bright eyes and encouraging smile had been erased, replaced with an icy glare and lips pressed together so tight they nearly disappeared. The hands that spread wide to offer him a hug every morning, noon, and night instead offered him nothing but pain. It was almost more than he could handle.

Maybe it would be easier if Max was more prone to screaming. He knew if he had made even one whimper of distress at any point in the night, David would come rushing in in an instant, demanding to know what was wrong and if anything hurt and if he needed anything. As much as he didn't want to admit it, it would be nice to see David's regular, happy face, not the twisted nightmare one still lurking at the back of his mind.

Max slid out of bed with as little noise as possible. He thought about going to David's room, but quickly decided against it; he wasn't a baby, he didn't need to run to David for comfort after one bad dream. He just needed to calm down a little.

He cracked his door open and noticed that there was a light on in the kitchen. David must still be up, then. Max glanced at the clock in his room and frowned; it was nearing midnight. David never stayed up this late when he had work in the morning. He barely even stayed up past ten on the weekends!

Max tiptoed down the hall, stopping just outside the kitchen. David was sitting at the table, poring over a stack of papers. Max couldn't tell from here what they were—whether they were bills, or something he needed to do for work, or even more files his social worker sent over—but he felt a pang of sympathy. Ever since he moved in with him, David had been doing more paperwork than he'd ever seen any other adult do.

Max watched David silently for a while. It was sort of relaxing; the kitchen light gave off a warm glow, and David looked so calm. Despite how late it was, he was fully focused on his work, tapping a pen against his lip as he thought something over. There was a mug on the table next to him, and Max wondered if he was only awake because he had finally started drinking coffee like a normal person. He doubted it.

Max bit his lip. This was a mistake. He should go back to his room before—

“Max?”

_Shit._ He looked up at David, who had finally noticed him hovering at the edge of the kitchen. He looked concerned.

“Is everything okay?”

“I'm fine.”

David got up from the table, coming over to kneel in front of the child. He reached out to lay a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Max shifted uncomfortably, eyes on the floor, but didn't push him away. “Max, what's wrong?”

“It's nothing, David. It's stupid.”

“Max—”

“I just had a bad dream. That's all.”

David was quiet for a moment. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Why the hell would I want to do that?”

David gave him a small smile, walking over to the cabinet to grab a glass and fill it with water. “Sometimes it helps,” he said, holding the glass out to Max.

Max took it with a scowl. “I'm pretty sure the only thing that could help would be if I forgot it ever happened in the first place,” he grumbled before taking a sip.

“Well, tell me how that works out for you,” David joked as he headed back to his seat. He paused briefly, then asked, “Wanna sit up with me for a bit?”

Max stared into his water for a moment, then nodded slowly. He shuffled over towards the table and climbed into the chair next to David's.

For once in his life, David was quiet. He didn't try to strike up a conversation, or make Max talk about what was bothering him, or even whistle under his breath like he always did when he worked. The only sounds in the apartment were the quiet shuffle of pages being turned and the occasional scratch of pen on paper. It was oddly soothing.

Before long, Max found himself nodding off. He didn't really want to go back to sleep, worried about the possibility of more nightmares, but the apartment was warm and the late hour was catching up to him. He stifled a yawn and fought against the desire to let his eyes fall closed.

David made sure to keep his attention split between the work he was doing and the kid beside him, watching him out of the corner of his eye. Max was leaning his head on his arm, eyes drooping and yawning every few minutes. David took that as a sign that he was calming down. “I think it's time you went back to bed,” he said softly.

Max pouted. “Pass.”

David smiled. “It's late,” he said, “and you have school in the morning.”

Max shook his head, but David got the feeling that he wanted to say something. He waited. Eventually Max confessed, “I don't want to have that dream again.”

“You can sleep in my room, if you want.”

Max pulled a face. “I'm not a baby.”

“I never said you were.”

They lapsed back into silence for a while. Max was practically falling asleep at the table, and David wondered how he would take it if he carried him back to bed while he was still awake. Not well, probably. He'd just wait until Max had actually fallen asleep. He was just thinking that it shouldn't be long now when Max spoke up suddenly, breaking the silence.

“You'd never hit me, would you David?”

David was alarmed. “Of course I wouldn't, Max!” he promised in a sharp whisper.

Max yawned, eyes closing as he slumped against David's arm. “Good,” he mumbled as he finally let himself drift off.

David stared down at the child, face calm in sleep as if he hadn't just asked the most earth-shattering question. He sat frozen in his chair, mind reeling as he tried to think of what to do. Eventually he slid a hand under Max's knees, picking the child up and tucking him against his chest. Max stirred but didn't wake, hiding his face against David's neck. He carried Max to his room and laid him down gently, pulling up the blankets to tuck him in.

As he left the room, David made a mental note to start looking for a therapist for Max in the morning.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I had said I was going to do bi-weekly updates, but I'm going away on vacation this upcoming week, so the next chapter won't be up until next Thursday. Sorry about that. On the plus side, that chapter is my favorite, so now at least you'll have time to get properly hyped for it. Plus it's, like, three times longer than the chapters I've already put up, so that's good too.
> 
> Also, come check me out on tumblr sometime ([shaky-pen.tumblr.com](http://shaky-pen.tumblr.com))! That's where I put all of my art up, and maybe I'll branch off into art/fic requests if you guys are into it!
> 
> Next Up: Poor Max gets sick at camp.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course this would happen. It's just Max's luck that he somehow manages to come down with the flu in the middle of the summer.

 

The sun was bright that day, shining down relentlessly through the leaves in a dappled pattern and giving Max a splitting headache on top of his already upset stomach. As awful as these woods were on an ordinary day, today they were hell. All Max wanted to do was go back to his tent, curl up in bed, and cease to exist for a few days.

They were being taken on a hike today, some ridiculous idea of David's. The campers were split into two groups, and would be hiking in opposite directions. David said the spots they were hiking to were directly across the lake from each other, so when they got there they'd be able to see the other group and wave at each other and feel some sort of dumb togetherness or something. Max rolled his eyes. What utter bullshit.

The counselors had decided who would go in what group, talking it over between themselves as they got all of their supplies in order. The campers milled about in front of the mess hall, waiting for the counselors to finish so they could get the hike over with. On any other day, Max would be complaining to his friends about the stupidity of the day's activity; now he just stayed quiet and tried to focus on not throwing up like he had after breakfast. He'd been feeling sick since last night, and willed himself to just get over it already.

Eventually it was decided: David would take Nurf, Dolph, Ered, Nerris, and Harrison; Gwen would take Space Kid, Preston, Nikki, Neil, and Max. Max had to hide his pout in the collar of his hoodie. He had wanted to go with David; he was feeling awful, getting worse and worse by the second, and knew that David would make him feel better. David always made everything better.

His pout turned into a sneer. Where had that thought come from? Obviously he was delirious. He must be sicker than he thought.

The hike was downright torturous. Max was simultaneously way too hot and way too cold, his feet felt like lead, he was getting light-headed, and he was already wiped out even though they'd only been walking for five minutes. Space Kid was chatting incessantly with Neil about nerd stuff, aggravating his headache, and Nikki was holding up some weird foul-smelling thing she had found in the bushes, aggravating his nausea. Preston had just showed up in front of him, blabbering something about the raw emotion behind his performance, when the world tilted sharply and Max dropped face first into the dirt.

***

Gwen hadn't exactly been keeping a close eye on the campers in her group. She glanced over her shoulder every couple of minutes to make sure that they hadn't lost anyone, but other than that was fine with letting them do their own thing. When she heard the chorus of alarmed shouts behind her, she kind of regretted that.

She spun around to find the kids huddled around Max, who was laying face down on the ground. His hands were still in his hoodie pocket; he hadn't even tried to break his fall. And he wasn't moving.

She rushed over to him, immediately kneeling down next to him and trying to think of what to do. Her hand hovered a few inches above the boy's back, wondering if it would be okay to touch him. She knew you weren't supposed to move people with head injuries; he didn't have a head injury, did he? How would she be able to tell?

She was about to ask the other campers if they had any idea of what had happened when Max groaned and stirred. “Give him some space,” she said, and the cluster of children took a step back as Max tried to push himself up. Gwen rested a hand on his shoulder so she could help him up, and even through the thick material of his hoodie, she could feel him burning up. Max shook her hand away, frowning at the ground.

Gwen leaned around to get a look at his face, and yup, his eyes were definitely glassy. So he was sick, then.

“You're not looking so good,” she said to him, reaching forward to place a hand on his forehead.

Max hit her hand away with more force than she would have expected he could in this state. “I'm fine,” he spit out, getting back on his feet. He was standing for all of two seconds before he started to sway dangerously.

Gwen reached out again to steady him, and he hit that hand away, too. She rolled her eyes to the sky, exasperated. Of course Max would be even worse when he was sick.

Gwen got to her feet as well, brushing the dust off her knees. “Alright, we're going back to camp. Come on, everybody.” She led the group back the way they had came, one hand hovering at Max's back partly to make sure he kept walking, partly to be ready to catch him in case he fell again.

Max sulked along the path, Nikki and Neil buzzing around him. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere else but here. Well, more so than usual.

Space Kid came up to her side. He was quiet for a few moments before speaking up. “Gwen?”

She looked at him. “Yes?”

“Uh, it's just that... I thought I heard Max throwing up in the bathroom after breakfast.”

Max's eyes snapped up, glaring daggers at the other kid. Gwen simply raised an eyebrow. “How come you didn't tell anyone?”

“Well, at first I didn't know who it was. I mean, I didn't see them, so I thought it could have been anyone. Then I thought that if someone was sick, they would have told you, so you wouldn't need me to tell you what you already knew.”

She turned her head to look at Max. “And what about you? Why didn't you tell me you were feeling sick?”

Max turned his glare from Space Kid up to her. “Why didn't you go fuck yourself the last time I told you to?”

Gwen sighed. _God, give me patience._

They were almost back at camp when Max started looking like he was seriously about to fall over again. He was swaying with every step, and Gwen did not think it was a good idea for him to keep walking like this.

Gwen bent down and grabbed Max around the waist, picking him up and tossing him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Max shouted, kicked, and cursed, pounding his fists against her back, but she ignored him.

After a minute he stopped fighting, but he hadn't given up. “If you don't put me down right now, I'm going to throw up down the back of your shirt,” he threatened.

Gwen's hand tightened on his back. “You wouldn't dare.”

“Try me.”

Gwen twisted her neck to look at him over her shoulder, and Max forced all of his remaining energy into his glare. But rather than giving in to him, Gwen pushed the door of the counselors' cabin open with her hip, carried him inside, and all but threw him down in one of the armchairs. Max whimpered as the room spun around him, the dizziness doing nothing to help with his nausea.

Max curled up pathetically on his side on the armchair, glaring weakly at Gwen's back as she rooted through the desk for the first aid kit. He heard the cabin door squeak open and glanced over to find Nikki and Neil hovering anxiously in the doorway. He half-buried his face in the seat of the armchair—he just wanted to be left alone.

“Is Max okay?” Neil's nasally voice squeaked out.

“I'm sure he's fine,” Gwen reassured, finding and pulling out the first aid kit.

“He doesn't look fine,” Nikki argued.

“No,” Gwen agreed, “but we'll be able to fix him up. It's probably not that bad; I'm sure he doesn't want you guys to be worrying about him.”

Max scowled. There was no need to talk about him like that; he was right here! And that was only because stupid Gwen had forced him into her stupid group and not let him go with stupid David like he had stupidly wanted to.

“Max,” Nikki piped up again, “no offense, but I have no idea what you just said.”

Max hadn't even known he'd been talking, so he didn't know what he had said, either.

“I'll get to taking care of Max; why don't you two go spend some time at the activity stations?” Gwen said, prying open the first aid kit. The lid came off with a loud _pop_ that drove through Max's head like an ice pick. Actually, he would have preferred it if it really had been an ice pick. At least it would have put him out of his misery.

“Stop talking nonsense, kid,” Gwen joked. Was he still talking? He didn't even remember opening his mouth.

Gwen turned her attention to the kids in the doorway, making a shooing gesture.

“We want to stay,” Neil argued. Nikki nodded enthusiastically in agreement. “If Max isn't feeling well, then we're not going anywhere until he's better.”

“While I'm sure Max appreciates having such loyal friends, I really can't let you stay here.”

“Why not?”

“Because.”

“That's not an answer, Gwen!”

“Sure it is.”

“No it's not!”

“It is, and that's final.”

Max had closed his eyes, their words washing over him meaninglessly. He didn't know what was going on, and he didn't care; he just wanted to sleep. When he felt someone's hand come down on his forehead, he all but hissed, scratching at the offending arm until the hand was pulled back.

“Ow!” Gwen yelped. “Watch it, you little shit!”

Max actually _did_ hiss then, baring his teeth in a threat. Gwen sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, as Nikki cheered, “Nice one, Max!”

“Come on, Max,” Gwen said, “work with me here. I need to take your temperature.”

She tried to bring the thermometer to his mouth, but he just scratched at her again, dragging his nails down her arm. She tried a few more times, because she knew she needed to, but got the same result. Nikki was laughing wildly behind her.

“I thought I told you two to leave.” Gwen crossed back over to the desk, opening a drawer and pulling out Max's emergency contact information. If he wasn't going to let her help him, then it was almost certain that they would have to take him to a doctor in the next few days. It would probably be best to notify his parents now; besides, maybe they would have some advice on how to handle their child.

“We just want to help,” Neil reasoned.

Gwen pulled over the old phone on the desk, the one connected to the landline that they were supposed to use for official camp business. She punched in the number listed on the sheet, not bothering to look at the rest of it, and held the receiver up to her ear, listening to it ring. “Well, if you really want to be helpful, I need to call Max's parents; could one of you go find— _David?_ ”

***

David should have known something was wrong the moment his phone started ringing. The only person he could think of who would be calling him was Gwen, and the only reason Gwen would be calling was if she was having a problem with one of the campers. That didn't explain why she was calling from the landline, though.

“Hey, Gwen. What's up?” he greeted, stopping the group and turning away slightly to give himself some semblance of privacy.

Gwen had been talking when he picked up, but she stopped mid-sentence once she heard his voice. “ _David?_ ” She sounded surprised.

“...yes?” Who had she been expecting? She was the one who called him.

“ _You're_ Max's guardian?!”

“Yes...” Again, she sounded surprised. Which, after thinking for a moment, David realized she probably should be; he hadn't actually told her he had taken Max in. It wasn't like he necessarily wanted to hide it from her. He meant to tell her in the beginning, of course he did, but he'd been so busy and there'd been so much to worry about that every time he talked to her, it just slipped his mind. He still planned on telling her at some point—he didn't like that his friend didn't know about such an important part of his life—but he had been looking after Max for long enough by now that he wasn't sure how to bring the subject up.

It took a second for David's brain to catch up with him. If he hadn't told Gwen he was fostering Max, how had she found out? He knew Max wouldn't tell her—he was somewhat touchy about the subject. He supposed that all of his information _was_ listed in Max's emergency contact file, but Gwen wouldn't have any reason to go through that. Unless...

Everything came together in an instant. “Oh God, Gwen what happened? Is Max okay? Did he get hurt? Is it serious? Are you with him? What's going on? Do we need to—?”

“Breathe, David,” Gwen cut in. David followed her instruction, drawing in a shaky breath and trying to get a handle on his rapidly-growing panic. He glanced over his shoulder at his group of campers, hoping none of them had been listening; they didn't need to be worrying about this. Nerris was the only one who seemed to have noticed, and she was looking at David with a touch of concern. At any other time, he would have offered her a reassuring smile. Now he simply turned away.

“Gwen, please.” He needed to know if his kid was alright.

“Max is sick,” she admitted.

David swallowed thickly. “How sick?”

“Hard to say; he won't let me get close enough to take his temperature.”

“Do you think you could put him on?”

“He's... not exactly coherent at the moment.”

David's lip trembled, and his hand tightened around his phone. “Okay. Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can,” he promised, hoping that somehow Max was the one who heard him.

“You'd better be,” were Gwen's parting words as she hung up.

David shoved his phone back in his pocket, ready to take off running towards his cabin when Nerris spoke up behind him. “Does Max need a healer? I have a few spells I could try, and my spell casting modifier is high enough that they're practically guaranteed to help.”

As much as David cherished all of his campers, he wasn't really listening. Nerris had just reminded him, he couldn't leave the kids alone. And he didn't want to bring them back to camp—that would be too much chaos when all he wanted to focus on was Max. But he couldn't just stay here; Max needed him, and there was no force on earth that was going to keep him away from his child at a time like this. Oh, this was a disaster. What was he going to do?

Seeing the Quartermaster shuffle out of the woods, David felt like he could cry. Never in his life had he been so relieved to see the surly old man. _Thank you,_ he thought, letting his eyes slip closed for a second. “That's a very kind offer, Nerris,” he said, turning to the child with the least shaky smile he could manage, “but I think we'll be okay. QM, watch the kids!” QM looked a little shocked at the order, but David didn't pause to explain. He turned on his heel and took off towards his cabin as fast as he could.

***

David was out of breath by the time he got back to camp, but that didn't matter. All he cared about was making sure Max was okay.

He threw open the door and hurried inside. Nikki and Neil were hovering awkwardly near the doorway, eyeing Gwen as she leaned against the cluttered desk. Her arms were littered with what looked like scratches, and David guessed that that was what she had meant when she said Max wouldn't let her close enough to take care of him. Max was curled up in a ball on one of the armchairs, eyes closed and shivering.

“How is he?” David asked, rushing over to the boy.

Gwen sighed, tapping a thermometer against her hand in frustration. “I'd be able to tell you if he would just cooperate.” She watched as David approached Max, waiting for the kid to lash out against him.

He did no such thing. David reached out, resting his hand on Max's forehead. Much to Gwen's surprise, rather than swatting the touch away, Max leaned into it. He let out a weak cough, eyes fluttering open a crack as he mumbled out a slurred “David?”

David smiled softy, running his hand over Max's hair. “Yeah, it's me,” he returned gently, voice barely louder than a whisper. “Gwen tells me you're not feeling too well.”

Max just grunted quietly, closing his eyes again.

“What happened?” David asked, looking up at the other counselor.

Gwen shrugged one shoulder. “He just collapsed in the middle of the hike. And Space Kid said he thought he heard him throwing up after breakfast.” She paused for a moment to think, then took a few steps over to David and held out the thermometer. Max wouldn't let her take his temperature, but if the scene in front of her was any indication, he'd probably let David.

David took it from her with a small nod. He tapped a finger against Max's forehead until the kid opened his eyes to glare at him. “Open up,” he instructed.

“Fuck you,” Max ground out, but it was missing all of his usual bite. He let David push the end of the thermometer into his mouth, curling up a little tighter.

David looked back up at Gwen, ready to ask her about medicine and doctors and at what degree Max's obvious fever would be _too_ high, but instead found that Nikki had suddenly appeared at his side.

“Are you really Max's dad now?” she asked loudly.

David was taken aback for a moment, not sure how to answer. He knew she meant no harm in her question, but it was a pretty sensitive subject. If he was going to give any sort of suitable answer, he was going to have to explain what had happened with Max's parents—which Max hated talking about—Max's situation in foster care—which Max hated talking about—and how he had come to be living with David—which Max hated talking about. He glanced down at Max, whose misery seemed to have increased ten-fold.

Luckily, Gwen was their savior. “Alright, you two. Out.” She grabbed Nikki's arm and pulled her towards the door before pushing her and Neil outside.

“But Max—” Neil started to protest.

“Will be fine. Go do... whatever it is you two do when you have free time. And stay out of trouble,” she added as she closed the cabin door.

“Thanks,” David said. As much as he liked Neil and Nikki, he knew Max hated having attention drawn to him when he was weak. He probably didn't even want Gwen here, but David wasn't going to ask her to leave until he had everything settled.

“Don't mention it,” she said, taking a seat at the desk and watching David and Max.

He slipped the thermometer out of Max's mouth and squinted at it. It was one of the old glass ones, and he was having a bit of a hard time reading it. After a moment, David frowned. It looked like Max's temperature was hovering just under 103º, which wasn't good at all.

“Do we have anything for fevers, Gwen?” David asked, biting his lip.

“Let me check.” There was a bit of a clatter as Gwen sifted through the rather bare first aid kit, and Max winced at the sudden noise. But Gwen came over a few moments later with a bottle of children's Tylenol, so David was nothing but grateful. He accepted the bottle with a smile, screwing off the cap and shaking out two tablets.

“Sit up, Max,” he said quietly, twisting the cap back on and giving the bottle back to Gwen.

Max groaned in response, twisting his head to bury his face in the cushion.

“I know, bud,” he said softly, running his hand over Max's hair, “but you need the medicine. So come on, up.” He moved his hand to Max's shoulder and helped pull the boy into a sitting position. He swayed dizzily, so David leaned him against the seat back, holding out the tablets for him to take.

Max squinted at David's hand before reaching out slowly and grabbing the tablets. He frowned at them, popping them into his mouth and chewing them with a grimace. “These taste like shit,” he grumbled.

David chuckled. “Could you get him some juice?” he asked Gwen over his shoulder.

“Sure thing,” she said, slipping out of the cabin.

As the door banged shut behind Gwen, David reached out and tipped Max forward into his chest.

“David,” the boy whined in protest, but he grabbed fistfuls of his guardian's shirt like his life depended on it.

“Mmhmm?” David hummed, scooping him up and making his way over to his bed.

“I can walk.”

“Of course you can.” He pulled back the covers and laid Max down, tucking him in loosely. The boy still looked awful, and Gwen had mentioned something about him throwing up earlier, so David grabbed a bucket out of the closet and set it down next to the bed, just in case. He sat down on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on Max's back. “How long have you been feeling sick?”

Max shrugged a shoulder, but made no other attempt to respond.

They sat in silence for a minute before Gwen came back, handing a cup full of orange juice to David. He glanced down at Max, who looked half-asleep, and put the cup down on the nightstand for him to have later.

“I only saw four kids out there,” Gwen said, fixing David with a skeptical look. “You didn't just leave the rest in the middle of the woods, did you?”

“Of course not!” David said. How could she think he would do something so irresponsible? “QM's watching them.”

“That's not much better.” She shook her head, walking back towards the door. “I'm gonna go bring them back.” She stopped and turned back once she had the door opened, narrowing her eyes at David. “You so owe me an explanation of all of this,” she said before disappearing into the sunlight.

David nodded absentmindedly, looking back down at Max just in time to catch him yawn. “Why don't you get some rest,” he suggested, rubbing his back lightly.

“'Kay,” he mumbled tiredly, but he knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep just yet. As the afternoon wore on, David kept up his gentle back rubs, and at some point started humming a soothing melody. And when the rest of the campers returned they brought with them the strangely reassuring, familiar din of energetic children and loud arguments. And somehow, in the middle of it all, Max was able to nod off to sleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol in case you haven't noticed, i am weak™ for david carrying max around
> 
> Also, you may have noticed that this fic has a definite end now. Yes, I have been planning out and starting to write these last chapters, and I've found the perfect stopping point. However, that doesn't mean I'm necessarily done with this AU. I'm toying with the idea of a sequel, so let me know if that's something you guys would be interested in. I don't have a lot of ideas for it yet, so if there are any head canons or scenarios you'd like to see me explore, let me know! You could leave them in the comments, or message me on tumblr ([shaky-pen.tumblr.com](http://shaky-pen.tumblr.com)).
> 
> Next Up: the obligatory, angsty first Big Fight chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David prided himself on is patience and understanding, but even he lost his temper sometimes.

David had never picked up any books on parenting, and maybe he should have, but he was pretty sure that they would all say that fighting was normal. For any two people, especially people who spent as much time together as a parent and their child, there were bound to be disagreements; days when emotions ran too high; careless words that hurt, even if they weren't intended to.

He and Max had had their fair of spats since he had taken him in. As much as he loved the kid, Max was far too good at pushing his buttons. He never listened, he was constantly mouthing off; it was like he was trying to make David mad at him. And as much as David tried to be understanding, his patience was wearing thinner and thinner.

Today had been a bad day. David had stayed late at work yesterday, came home exhausted, then had to stay up even later after a coworker emailed him begging him to help her fix some problem (he couldn't even remember what the problem had been, now). He barely got five hours of sleep, then had been run to the ground at work today, forced into frustrating situation after frustrating situation. He came home to a message from Max's teacher—he'd gotten detention for drawing on the desks at school—and saw that the kitchen counters were still filthy, despite him asking Max to clean them repeatedly for the better part of a week. And he was fed up.

“Max!”

Max looked up from where he was gaming on the couch, not seeming particularly interested.

David took a slow breath, trying to hold back his anger. “Why are these counters still dirty?”

“What?”

“The counters, Max. I asked you to clean them.”

“Oh. Yeah, I forgot,” he said airily, turning back to his game.

David huffed. “This is the fourth day in a row you 'forgot'.”

Max shrugged. “Whatever, I'll do it tomorrow.”

“No, you''ll do it now.”

“I'm kinda in the middle of something, David.”

“Your game can wait. Come here.” Max opened his mouth to say something, but David cut him off before he could get a word out. “ _Now._ ”

Max rolled his eyes, pausing the game and sliding off the couch. He came into the kitchen looking almost bored.

David stared down at him, arms folded. “I got a call from your teacher.”

“Oh.”

“ _Detention_ , Max?” Max wasn't looking at him, but David doubted that it was because he actually felt bad about it. “She said this was the third time she's caught you drawing on the desks at school.”

“Who gives a shit?”

“Max! You know you can't defile other people's property! Why would you even do that?”

“I was bored, David. Who cares?”

“I care. Your teacher cares. Society cares.” Max rolled his eyes, and David felt his blood boil. “It's graffiti, Max. It's illegal.”

“It's so not the same thing. Stop making this into a big deal.”

“It is a big deal!”

“Whatever,” Max shrugged him off, already turning away to go back to his game.

David let out a grunt of frustration, bordering on a scream, pounding his fist down on the counter. He didn't notice the way Max jumped, whirling back around with fear in his eyes. “Why are you so difficult?”

“David?”

“I have had it up to here with you, Max! I've been trying to be patient, to give you space and be understanding, but this has been going on for far too long. It has to stop. I am sick and tired of your bad attitude!”

“What are you saying?” There was a tremor in Max's voice that he didn't even register.

“Are you trying to make me mad at you? Because it's working. I have never in my life met a child as infuriating as you! Would it kill you to once, just _once,_ think of someone other than yourself? I don't think I've ever even seen you try.”

“Please, don't.”

“I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this.”

“Don't say that.”

“Go to your room, Max.”

“David, I—,” Max's voice was small in a way he had never heard it before, but by this point David was far too mad to really take it in.

“I said, go to your room!”

Max flinched, eyes wide and frightened. He seemed to shrink in front of David's eyes, and he felt a flash of guilt worm its way in alongside his anger. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, imagining himself sitting on the shore of Lake Lilac to calm himself down. It didn't work as well as it normally did, but it was better than nothing.

By the time David opened his eyes again, Max was gone.

***

He knew this day was coming.

As soon as David closed his eyes, Max fled down the hall to his room, blinking back tears. Of course it was going to happen; it always did. No one ever really wanted him. He'd been stupid for believing that David might be different.

He leaned against his door, looking at his room and wondering what he'd be allowed to take with him when he left. He hadn't taken much from the other homes when they sent him back, mostly just clothes. Then again, he hadn't had a lot of stuff he even wanted to take. Now, though, the thought of having to give up some of the things David bought him tipped him over the edge, the first tear slipping down his cheek. After that, they didn't stop. They blurred his vision so badly he could barely see, and no matter how much he wiped his face it didn't stay dry for more than a second.

He was such an idiot; he shouldn't have gotten attached. He'd learned years ago how painful and pointless caring was, and he had promised himself he'd never make that mistake again. He thought about the tiny suitcase he'd come here with, about how little he could fit in it and how much he'd have to leave behind. He thought about Camp Campbell and how he couldn't go back now, not after this. He thought about never seeing David again, and it _hurt_.

He moved further into his room, not sure if he wanted to crawl into bed and hide or escape out the window before he had to listen to another “we just don't think you're the right fit for our family” speech. His foot came down on the stupid teddy bear David had bought him as a welcome present, the one David had sewn a ridiculous tiny Camp Campbell T-shirt for because, according to him, no other shirt would do. He'd tossed it aside after David had given it to him and barely touched it after, and he pretended that that was because he didn't like it, not because he was afraid of all of the sentiment it carried.

Max picked the bear up and looked at it for a moment before hugging it tightly, tears coming faster now, if that was even possible. This was it, he decided. Even if he couldn't take anything else with him when he left, he would take this dumb bear.

He sat down on the floor on the far side of the bed, back to the door. He brought his knees up and curled into himself, pulling his hood on like that could somehow stop all of this from happening.

After a while, the tears stopped, but Max felt like he was one word away from them coming back. He hated it. He didn't want David to see him cry when he came in to break the news to him. He didn't want him to see him like this, weak and pathetic because he was dumb enough to think he might have actually found a home. David probably already felt bad enough about sending Max back, because that was the kind of person David was; he didn't need to feel even worse because Max's stupid tears betrayed how desperately he wanted to stay.

He bit his lip and held his breath, berating himself for being this way. It was his fault, anyway. He'd messed it all up and David didn't want him anymore and there was nothing he could do to change that. All he could do now was sit and wait for David to come tell him he had to leave.

***

David waited half an hour before he tried to talk to Max again. He hadn't calmed down all the way yet, but he didn't want Max to think he'd gotten away with all of this. He knocked on the door but received no answer, not even a “fuck off.”

“Max,” he called, knocking again. Nothing. So he was ignoring him? Fine.

He tried the handle and found it, luckily, unlocked. Normally he'd feel awful for letting himself into Max's room like this, but if the kid was ignoring him, he would just have to deal with it. David was talking to him whether he liked it or not.

It took a moment for David to spot him, curled up on the floor on the other side of the bed. David couldn't think of a single reason why he'd be over there, with his hood pulled up when he was still inside no less, but he supposed it didn't matter.

“Max,” he said sternly. Still no response from the child. “Come over here so I can talk to you.” Max didn't even twitch. “I don't appreciate being ignored.” Nothing.

David folded his arms, irritation mounting. Why did Max have to be so difficult all the time?

“Max, you know this behavior is absolutely unacceptable. I know that things have been hard on you, so I've tried my best to be understanding, but this has gone on long enough that I just don't know what to do with you anymore. If you're never going to listen to me then—”

“Did you already call?”

His words were a little hard to understand, muffled against his knees. David sighed, frustrated that he was trying to change the subject. “Call who, Max?” he asked tiredly.

“The care home.”

“Why would I call—”

“To give me back.”

Everything inside of him froze, like a sheet of ice had slipped under his skin. Was his heart breaking, or was it plummeting out of his chest? Could it do both at once? It sure felt like it could. His words were stuck in his throat, which was catastrophic because, oh God, Max thought he didn't want him anymore, he needed to say something!

“What? No! No, Max, of course not! Why would I ever do something like that?”

“Because I'm a handful. And a horrible, ungrateful nuisance. And I never listen, or help, and I swear too much, and I'm not a nice person, and all I do is make people's lives difficult, and—”

Before he eve knew what he was doing, David crossed the room and rounded the bed to get to Max. He was clutching the bear he had gotten him, which Max had said was for babies when he had given it to him, tightly against his chest, like he feared someone would come rip it away from him; or perhaps, more accurately, like someone would come rip him away from it. With his hood up, David couldn't see his face, but he was certain that if he could he would be met with puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. He stopped Max's tirade against himself with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“This is your home now, Max. I love you. I'd never send you away.”

Max didn't look at him, just curled up even tighter, his shoulders shaking with sobs he tried to muffle against the bear's head. David's lip trembled as tears gathered in his own eyes. He reached forward and pulled Max into his lap, wrapping him in a tight hug. For once, Max didn't fight him.

“I'm sorry,” the boy said in a rush, breath hitching over his sobs. “I'm sorry I don't help you more—and I'm sorry about the counters; I didn't mean to keep forgetting, I swear. I would—I'd remember when I got to school, and I would try to—but by the time I got home I—and I'm sorry about the desks. I know I shouldn't, but—I just—and I'm sorry I—I—”

Max broke off as his sobs became too heavy to talk around. David shushed him, rocking him back and forth and resting his chin on the top of Max's head. “I'm sorry, too, Max,” he said softly once he had quieted a bit, rubbing the child's back. “I shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you. You didn't deserve to have me yell at you like that. There's no situation it would've been okay for me to say those things in.”

It was a while before it seemed like Max was starting to calm down but David didn't mind; he would sit here holding him forever if he had to. Max sniffled quietly for a few minutes before he found his voice again. “I can clean the counters now, if you want.”

David chuckled. “I think you've worn yourself out too much,” he said, picking Max up and tucking him into bed. He waited for him to complain about being babied, but the kid remained silent. David smiled. “We'll talk about what to do about your detention later.” He leaned down to press a kiss to the top of Max's head. Max, in turn, hugged his teddy bear even tighter.

David slipped out of the room as quietly as he could. He wasn't sure if Max would actually take a nap or not, but either way he figured he needed some time to calm down. They both did.

He made his way into the living room, where Max's game was still paused on the TV. He saved it for him and turned it off, looking up at a picture of Max he had framed on the wall. For a while now he'd been thinking about properly adopting Max, making the two of them officially a family. It was a big step, but today had made him realize that he wanted it more than anything, and he was pretty sure Max wanted it, too. He grabbed his laptop from where it was sitting on the coffee table and opened up the internet. He decided it was time for him to start looking into the adoption process.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm sure this doesn't need to be explained, but all of the bad things Max said about himself were things he heard the other foster families say about him. 
> 
> Next up: A look back at the day Max started living with David.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was a joke. It had to be; just some sick, twisted joke, because there was no way this was his life now.

Max was curled up in a ball in the back seat of David's station wagon, seething. Of all the sick jokes the universe had been playing with him lately, this was by far the worst.

David was smiling excitedly in the driver's seat, and it only fueled Max's anger. There was no reason the man should be looking so pleased about all of this, unless he finally decided to show his dark side and was using this as some sort of revenge for all the shit Max gave him at Camp Campbell. Well if that was the case, David had already fucked him over enough; he didn't need to gloat about it.

Max glared at the back of David's head for a moment before redirecting his gaze back out the window. It was official: his life was the worst.

Ever since he's seen David's car pull up in front of the group home, Max had felt like he was two seconds away from screaming. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to. After all, he had to do _something;_ he wasn't going to just sit by and enable David's delusional fantasy, like he was the hero waltzing in to come save poor, troubled Max from the horror that was his life. It was that fucker's fault his life was so shitty to begin with! If David had just kept his fat mouth shut all of those months ago, neither of them would be in this situation.

David pulled the car into a spot in the lot of a boring looking apartment building. “Here we are!” he exclaimed happily, smiling at Max in the rear-view mirror.

Max didn't even bother to look up. He scowled out the window, fists clenched so tight it hurt.

David pretended not to notice Max's bad attitude. “Let's grab your things, and then we can head up!”

David got out of the car, taking a deep breath of the cold winter air before moving to get Max's bag out of the trunk. Max stayed stubbornly put.

David's heart had stung when he first saw Max's suitcase. Surely he should have more than just one small bag? At first he thought that maybe there were more bags, and Max just needed someone to help him carry them, but when he asked he was told that this was it. This one tiny suitcase contained all of the things Max owned.

As he closed the trunk, David swore to himself that he would change that as soon as possible. He'd buy Max enough things to fill a hundred suitcases. He turned to ask the kid what sort of things he might like only to find that he hadn't met him at the back of the car. David peeked around the passenger side to see where he was.

David's smile slipped a little when he noticed Max hadn't moved a muscle. He opened the door for him, feeling the twinge of worry he'd been hiding ever since he'd picked him up start to grow. “Max?”

Max slunk out of the car looking downright furious. He yanked the handle of his suitcase out of David's hand with enough force that it made his new guardian jump and started stomping his was across the parking lot.

David bit his lip, shutting and locking the car before hurrying after Max. He let them into the building and led Max over the the stairs. His apartment was on the third floor, and he hoped Max would like it.

Max didn't say a word as he followed David to his apartment. In fact, he hadn't said a single thing to him since he'd picked him up. David wrung his hands, feeling awkward. It felt like they were starting off on the wrong foot. He could understand why Max would be angry, but he had no idea what to do about it.

David forced his worry down, masking it with a smile. Right now he needed to focus on making Max feel comfortable and welcome.

“This is it,” he said brightly, opening the door to his, now _their,_ apartment. Max reluctantly followed him inside.

David's apartment wasn't very big, but he liked it. It had a decent sized kitchen separated from the living room by a breakfast bar; two bedrooms, one bathroom. It was snug, but plenty of room for the two of them. He quickly showed Max around, mentioning where he kept certain things, pointing out the door to his own room and making sure Max knew that he could come get him at any time; he'd never be too busy. Max didn't appear to be listening.

“And this is your room,” he said, leading Max down the hall and opening the door. He'd already bought the basics—a bed, a dresser, a desk, and a nightstand—but the room still needed to be decorated. Max glanced around, sneering. “I know it's pretty bare,” David hurried to explain, “but I didn't want to get you anything you wouldn't like. I was planning on taking you shopping this weekend; we can get you a new bedspread, nicer curtains, maybe some posters, whatever you want.”

Max sulked into his new room and threw his suitcase down on the bed. Somehow he managed to make the act of unzipping the thing aggressive.

David worried at the hem of his shirt for a moment. “Do you need some help unpacking?”

“No.” It was the first thing Max had said to him all day. David wasn't sure if he should be counting it as progress or not.

David stood frozen in the doorway for a while, watching Max yank his clothes out of his bag and toss them onto the bed in piles he couldn't make sense of. He suddenly got the feeling that he was in way over his head with this. It wasn't like he had expected some happy, tearful reunion between the two of them, but Max seemed more hateful now than he'd ever been at camp.

Taking a deep breath, David reminded himself that it was just going to take a little time. Max had been through a lot since the last time he'd seen him; he should have known the kid would be bitter. He would come around eventually, David was sure of it.

Still, there had to be _something_ he could do to get them moving on the right track. After a moment, he remembered that there was. David ducked into his room, grabbing the teddy bear that was sitting on his bead. It was a simple brown bear, with silky soft fur and plushy, floppy limbs. He had wanted to get Max something as a welcome present, but even after spending an entire summer looking after him, he still couldn't identify a single thing he could say for certain Max liked. He figured that the bear would be something safe; people gave teddy bears as gifts for all sorts of occasions. David had even personalized it with a tiny Camp Campbell T-shirt he had sewn for it. The camp was how he had first met Max, after all, and David was nothing if not sentimental.

“Hey, Max.” Max looked up from the drawer he was stuffing shirts into, fixing David with a steely glare. David fidgeted nervously for a second before taking a few steps into the room. He held the bear out to Max with a smile, saying, “I got you this.”

Max took the bear with an unreadable expression, and for a moment David felt hopeful. Then he threw it aside and turned back to the drawer. “I don't need baby toys, David.”

David bit back a sigh, determined not to let it get to him. _He just needs time to adjust,_ he told himself. “Stuffed animals aren't necessarily for babies,” he said, picking the bear up from where it had landed. He sat it on the floor, propping it up at the foot of the bed. “I made the shirt myself, you know. Camp Campbell doesn't make shirts this small, and I wanted to make it special for you.”

He knew Max wasn't listening, but he didn't let that stop him from keeping up a cheery, if one-sided, conversation. “Is there anything specifically you had in mind for dinner tonight? I was planning on cooking something, but we could also order out if you want.”

Max gave no reaction, not that David had expected him to.

“Well, I think all that's left is for you to get settled. Are you sure you don't want any help?” Max continued unpacking, seemingly pretending that David wasn't there. “Okay. Well... I'll be in the living room, if you need me,” he said, finally heading out and giving Max some space. He sighed. Working all of this out was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

Max glared at the door for a moment after David had left before stomping over and slamming it shut. _Fucking David._ Just who did he think he was?

Max huffed as he turned to go finish putting away his clothes. He didn't know why he was even bothering—he'd be out of here in little enough time that unpacking was just a waste. Whatever. At least it gave him an excuse to be in here instead of having to spend time with that asshole in the living room.

He spotted the dumb bear David gave him sitting propped up on the floor at the foot of the bed. He stared at it for a while before going over and tipping it over with his toe, watching it slowly slump to the floor. It was stupid, he told himself, trying to figure out the weird feeling tugging at his heart at the sight of it lying there pathetically. Yes, it was stupid. He didn't care, he tried (and failed) to convince himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this work is winding down, and I just wanted to say thank you all so much for your continued support! I don't want to be done with this concept just yet, though, so I have a sequel in the works. The writing is kiiiiinda kicking my ass though. I don't want to give up on it, but no promises. 
> 
> Next up: the fluff-tastic conclusion


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max had never believed in happy endings, but that didn't mean they never existed.

 

David had been looking into the adoption process for a few weeks, now. Ever since the big fight, the first and only time he'd ever seen Max cry, he was sure that this was the right move. Max was his son, and he was Max's father; they didn't _need_ adoption papers for that to be true, but that didn't mean that he didn't want them. The thought of actually being able to introduce Max to people as his son made David giddier than he could express.

He hadn't told Max about any of this yet. He wasn't meaning to keep it some big secret, he just didn't know how to broach the subject. It was an important discussion, and he didn't want to just drop it on the kid out of nowhere. Maybe when the weekend rolled around, he'd take Max out for the afternoon, and they could talk about it on the drive back. Things always seemed so much easier to discuss in the car.

David was in the kitchen, working on dinner and thinking about places Max might want to go. His first thought was that they could go to an arcade, but he wasn't so sure about that. He knew they were sort of old-fashioned now, and he didn't know if that was something Max would like. Maybe the movies? That would only work if they were showing something Max wanted to see, and he didn't think he had been interested in any of the recent trailers. There were the botanical gardens on the edge of the city, but Max didn't really enjoy nature. Well, Max didn't really enjoy much of anything. Maybe he should just ask him where he wanted to go; it would be way easier.

From the living room, Max cut into his thoughts. “David, what is this?” he asked, his voice oddly tight.

David looked up to see that Max had taken his laptop again, which honestly he really needed to talk to him about. He had gotten Max a laptop of his own a while ago; he had no idea why the kid didn't just use that one.

“What's what?” he returned, coming over to where Max was sitting so he could see what was bothering him. He didn't think he had anything bad on there, so he didn't really have any idea about what Max had found. Was this about the cat appendix thing? Leave it to Max to dig up some weird search he'd made months ago.

When he finally caught a glimpse of the screen, David's breath caught in his throat. It didn't have anything to do with cats at all. Max had found the page he'd been looking at about the adoption process.

“Oh,” he said lamely, mind going blank. “That.”

Max looked up at him, eyes a little wet. He looked so small and vulnerable, and David would have given anything to know what was going through his head at that moment.

David sat down next to him, feeling more awkward than he had in a long time. He didn't feel prepared for this—he expected to have at least a few more days to think of how to handle this. Was he sitting too close? Would Max be uncomfortable if he put his arm around him? He bit his lip for a moment. What should he say? How should he begin?

He took a deep breath and decided to just go for it. “Max, you know how much I care about you. Really, you're more important to me than anything. And in the time I've known you, and the you've been living here, I've come to think of you as my son. You're family, now. So I've been thinking... it would be nice if we could make it official.”

Max was still staring at him, his expression unreadable. David offered him a small smile before continuing. “We don't have to if you don't want to. I know it's a big step, and I don't want to you to feel like you have to say yes just to make me happy. It's okay if you need to take some time to think about it, and if you decide you're fine with the way things are now and would prefer not to have things change, that's okay too. It's your decision, Max, and—”

“Why?”

Max wasn't looking at him anymore. He was staring down at the computer screen like it displayed the answers to all of the questions in the universe, if only he could figure out how to read them.

_Why?_ That got David a little concerned. Did Max think he didn't, what, deserve this somehow? “Because I care about you. I want you to keep living here; I want to see you grow up, and I want to be the one who helps you when you need it, and get to feel proud when I watch you succeed. I want us to be a family, Max. I want you.”

“But this is—” _permanent_ , he didn't say. As long as he was just fostering him, David could give him back at any time. If he adopted him, he'd be stuck with him forever. Did he really want that?

There'd been a few times, back in that first summer at Camp Campbell, when Max had found himself wondering what it would be like to have a parent like David. He was annoying as fuck, but no one could deny that he truly cared about his campers. Max was so used to being ignored by the adults who took care of him that it was almost shocking to see someone actually show interest in him. On one particular, lonely night, when he lay awake in bed because sleep was futile, he thought about how nice it would be to have David as his father instead. But now that he was being offered exactly that, he almost felt like he couldn't accept it. Did David really know what he was asking?

David waited patiently for Max to finish his thought, but he just let the sentence dangle. He pushed David's laptop onto the coffee table and leaned back against the couch cushions, drawing his knees up.

David watched him, not sure what he could be thinking. Max only curled up like that when he was upset, and he started to second guess himself. Was this too much? Was it too soon? Had he misjudged Max's feelings?

“Max? Are you okay?”

He shrugged, eyes on the ground.

“Do you want me to give you some space?”

It was subtle, barely noticeable, but Max shook his head.

David waited for Max to say something, but the seconds ticked by and he didn't even open his mouth. “Tell me what you're thinking, Max,” he pleaded softly. “I can't read your mind.”

Max was hesitant. “You shouldn't have to...”

“Have to what?” The kid was silent, refusing to meet David's eyes. “I'm not doing anything because I think I have to. I want to adopt you, Max. If you want to be adopted, that it. And like I said, it's more than okay if you need some time to think it all over. You don't need to decide anything yet, I was just—”

“I wanna do it,” Max said in a rush, forcing the words out before he lost his nerve.

David blinked, feeling jittery. “That... didn't take long. You don't need more time to think? You're sure?”

“Of course I'm sure, idiot. Why would I want to say no?” His voice got so quiet David could barely hear him as he said, “You're the best thing that ever happened to me.”

David felt a warm feeling bubbling up inside him. He surged forward, capturing Max in a tight hug. “I love you, Max,” he whispered.

There was a moment where Max didn't do anything; then he slowly raised his arms, wrapping them around David's neck and hugging him back. “I love you too, Dad.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we finish. Thank you all so much for reading, and thank you for all of the love and support you've given! This is one of the most successful stories I've ever written, and I had a lot of fun with it. I hope you did, too.  
> And while the ending to anything is bittersweet, don't feel too sad! I have a few ideas for a sequel fic, and I've already started to put some work into it. Unfortunately, the writing for that isn't coming as naturally as the writing did for this, so it may be a while before I can get it up. In the meantime, I am working on a story based on [directium](http://directium.tumblr.com)'s [teenage!Dadvid AU](http://directium.tumblr.com/tagged/Teenage-Dadvid-AU), so with any luck that'll be up soon.  
> Once again, thank you all so much! I'm open to hearing any requests or head canon ideas you'd like to see me explore, so let me know if there's something you want to see! See you guys soon <3


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